Cloth folding attachment



May 15, 1934. w. ALLEN CLOTH FOLDING ATTACHMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 8, 1931 INVENTOR.

Q BY W MW 6% KM, $K AWI 75 27M I ATTORNEY;

May 15, 1934. w. ALLEN CLOTH FOLDING ATTACHMENT Filed Aug. 8, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

BY 1 h lI/l/ld ATTORNEY; 1

Patented May 15, 1934 PATENT OFFICE CLOTH FOLDING ATTACHMENT Wyeth Allen, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Chase Bag 00., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application August 8, 1931, Serial No. 555,931

4 Claims.

This invention relates to cloth folding attachments for sewing machines and is particularly designed and adapted for use in seaming bags, as, for example, burlap bags, although also capa- 5 ble of other uses and applications.

In seaming the usual type of burlap bags the side seam unites cut edges and to preclude unraveling and breaking down of the seam it is desirable to double the edges back upon themselves before they are stitched together. This is not necessary with the bottom seam in the ordinary type of bag as the edges of the bag united to form the bottom seam are the selvage edges or bound edges. 7

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a cloth folding attachment for sewing machines which is capable of speedily and effectively folding the side edges of the bag, as these edges are fed to the stitch forming mechanism and; yet the attachment may be quickly and readily shifted out of the Way when desired.

Some types of bags have not only the side edges but also the bottom edges cut and the present invention is well adapted for seaming the bottom as well as side edges of such types of bags.

Other important objects of the invention reside in the provision of a device of this character which exerts very little drag on the goods during the folding operation and the feed of material therethrough and yet is reliable and effective in its folding action and is so designed and constructed that the sewer or operator may readily introduce the edges of the bag or other article to be seamed into and under the control of the instrumentalities of the cloth folding attachment.

Another object of the invention is to provide for the regulation of the amount of turnover of the goods or, in other words, to facilitate variation of the width of the folded over edges.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cloth'folding attachment which is susceptible of adaptation for use with goods of different thickness and which may be readily alined with the stitch forming mechanism, that is to say, may be readily brought into the line of feed of the goods to the stitch forming mechanism.

A still further object is to provide a seamer or cloth folding attachment having these advantages and capacities and which is simple and durable in construction, reliable and effective in operation and easy and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture and apply.

Bags seamed with the seamer embodying the present invention are stronger than those sewed in the ordinary way. The bags can be sewed with the stitching nearer the edge whereby to prevent pulling of the cross threads of the goods and reduce leakage. With prior seaming devices the stitching has been necessarily located an appreciable distance from the edge of the back that has been seamed and, as a consequence, when the edge is subjected to a pull the longitudinal threads are pulled together with the re-' sult that the seamed edge is opened up sufficiently to allow the contents of the bag to leak through the seamed edge. With seams formed by a seamer embodying the present invention, such leakage is prevented.

Other objects and advantages reside in certain novel features of the construction, arrangement and combination of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, and in which:

Figure 1 is a view in top plan showing a cloth folding attachment embodying the present invention, parts being broken away and parts being shown in section for the sake of illustration;

Figure 2 is a view in section taken on line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary detail view showing the side seam of the bag;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Figure 2; and

Figure 6 is a sectional View taken on line 6-6 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, it Will .be seen that the cloth folding attachment embodying the present invention comprises a shiftable carrier 1 having its body'portion 2 provided at one side with an elongated mounting arm 3 pivotally attached as at 4 to the frame or top portion 5 of the sewing or seaming machine.

The cloth folding means proper is designated generally at 10 and is carried by a bracket 11 having notched or slotted lugs 12 receiving studs or posts 13 secured to the body portion 2 of the shiftable carrier and provided with nuts 14 which have clamping engagement with the lugs 12 to secure the bracket in any one of a number of adjusted positions, thereby facilitating lining up of the. cloth folding attachment with the stitch forming mechanism of the sewing machine or with the line of feed of the material to the stitch form ing. mechanism.

. ment in proper position.

Integral with or otherwise suitably connected to the bracket 11 are upper and lower curved folding wings or members 15 and 16, these folding Wings 15 and 16 being provided on the opposite sides of a separating rib 17 which may be integral with the wings and with the bracket 11. The wings l5 and 16 are of gradually increasing transverse extent as willbe apparent from Figure 1 and preferably the lower Wing 16 is slightly wider at its inner end than the upper wing 15. The forward end of the rib 17 is laterally enlarged and is integral with a web 18 which is also integral with the wings 15 and 16. The forward 'cornerof the web, offset laterally from the wings 15 and 16, is thickened or enlarged as at 19 and to this enlarged portion 19 lateral extensions 20 of guiding and folding plates 21 and 22 are secured as by means of bolts and nuts 23 and 23. Beyond the enlarged portion 19 of the web 18, the, combined folding and guiding plates 21 and 22 extend along and above and below the rib 1'7 and Within and in cooperative ,relationto the folding wings l5 and 16. The forward ends of the guide. and folding plates 21.and 22 are .providedvwith flaring extensions 24-and 25 facilitating the insertion of the fabric into the device. The combined folding and guidingplates 21and 22 converge toward and are engaged with each other and at their inner ends, as shown in Figure 2. However, these plates are "of resilient material and are capable of flexing away from each other to the. extent necessary to permit certain of the layers of the fabric to pass therebetween.

When the cloth folding attachment is oper- Yatively disposed, it is in the position shown in full lines in Figure l. andat' this time a gage pin secured to. and projecting downwardly from the bodyportion 2 is snugly engaged in a keeper opening 31 thereby holding the cloth folding attach- Between the seaming of the side edges of a bag and the bottom edges the carrier is shifted over to the dotted line positionshownin Figure 1. The arm 3 of the .carrier is sufficiently flexible to permit the gage pin 36 tobe disengaged from its keeper opening 31 and the pivotalmounting of, the carrier provides for its shifting to. the dotted line position. It is to be noted that due to the length of the arm 3 that only. a. slight swinging movement is required to carry the attachment out of the line of feed and out of the way. In practicethis is important as high speed production withthis type of bag requires that buta minimum of time be expended in shifting the carrier into and out of position.

In, order. to make the device of light construction and yet provide for the desired rigidity, spring braces 35 and 36 may be provided between the fulcrum or. pivotal mounting 4 of the carrier and the body portion 2101" some element connected to the body portion 2. In the construction shown, thespring brace 35 has a downturned end 35 normally engaged. in an opening 181' of the web 18, this opening facilitating access to one of the nuts 14.- The brace 36 is engaged with the brace 35.

To provide for convenient regulation of the amount of turn-over of the goods, that is, for variation in the width of the folded edges, a gage pin 40 is provided and extends vertically through slots provided in the lateral extensions 20 of the guiding and folding plates 21 and 22 and in the Web 18; This gage pin 40 is threadedly connected with and. secured to a short mounting strip 41 which is positioned on the lateral extension 20 of the guide plate 211 and which is secured in adjusted position by the bolt and nut 23'. With this construction, the gage pin may be adjusted transversely to facilitate regulation by the operator of the width of the folded edges.

In use, the operator of the machine in sewing the side edges of the bag, for example, grasps the edges and thrusts them in between the separating rib 1"! and the guide and folding plates 21 and 22. As the edges are moved inwardly past the inner edges of the guide or folding plates 21 and 22 they come under the control of the folding wings 15 and 16 and, as a consequence, are turned back in the manner illustrated in Figure 3. After the edges are thus formed the operator pulls them through the attachment and thrusts them under the presser foot of the sewing maching after which the edges are fed through the stitch forming mechanism under the control of the sewing machine'feed and as the edges are pulled through the stitch forming mechanism they are also pulled through the folding attachment and have the foldedformation shown in Figure 4 imparted thereto. Due: to the character of the folding wings .15 and16 and of the combined guiding.

and folding plates 21 and 22 and to their frictional engagement with the folded edges and also to the frictional engagement of the inner ends of the plates 21 and 22.. with the inner layers of the fold, the folding action is uniform throughout the entire side seam. While the control of the folding attachment. over the cloth to effect the folding action illustrated in Figure 4 is effective and reliable, this is accomplished without a heavy drag or without the application of a heavy resistance to the flow of the cloth through the attachment. a consequence, the attachment does not interfere with or impair the feed of the materials through the stitch forming mechanism or in any way direct from the action of the stitch forming mechanism. This advantage is also had withease of loading,

. thatis, theoperatormay readily and easily intro.-

edges, then such edges are fed underthecarrier,

1 and are properly positioned in theline of feed by virtue oftheir engagement with the gage pin 30 which in the lifting of the carrier by the material beneath the, same draws the pin partially out of its recess in the top wall 50f the machine and causes-the pinto extend across the space between the plate 2 of the carrier and said top wall. If the bag is of the type that has not only its side but also its bottomv edges out then the bottom edges are fed through the-folding attachment to form the bottom seamin the same manner that the top seamisformed. The bracket 11 has an upright web 11a providing a support for the curved,

folding wings-15, 16, the dividing rib 17. and, the

web, 18, the latter beingon the side of;the upright web opposite the other parts referred to.

It is to be understood that while for the sake of illustration the invention has been described as advantageously adapted for use in seaming burlap bags that the attachment may be as advantageously usedin seaming any type of bag or in.

various other seaming operations. Furthermore,

While. the invention has been described and.-

shown as embodied one type of structure,

ASv

various changes in the size and shape and ar- 156 rangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

The invention claimed is:

1. A device of the character described for use with a sewing machine comprising a shiftable carrier, means on the carrier and engageable with the machine for holdingthe carrier in fixed relation to the line of feed of the machine on setting the carrier with respect thereto, a bracket adjustably supported on said shiftable carrier whereby the bracket may be positioned in proper relation to the line of feed independently of the carrier, a cloth folding attachment carried by the bracket and including integral and curved folding wings, a dividing rib interposed between said folding wings, combined guide and folding plates positioned between the wings and the rib, and spring means on the carrier engaging a web on the bracket above the adjustable connection of the bracket with the carrier for exerting a downward force on the carrier through the bracket for holdingthe carrier against the machine.

2. A device of the character described for use with a sewing machine comprising a shiftable carrier, co-acting means on the carrier and the machine for holding the carrier in fixed relation to the line of feed of the machine on setting the carrier with respect thereto, a bracket adjustably supported on said shiftable carrier whereby the bracket may be positioned in proper relation to the line of feed independently of the carrier, a cloth folding attachment carried by the bracket and including integral and curved folding wings, a dividing rib interposed between said folding wings, combined guide and folding plates positioned between the wings and the rib, said combined guide and folding plates being adjustably supported whereby to adapt the attachment for use with goods of different thicknesses, and spring means including a flexible arm attached to the carrier in the general plane thereof at or adjacent the connection of the carrier with the machine and extending to and engaging a web on the bracket above the adjustable connection of the bracket with the carrier for exerting a downward pressure on the carrier through the bracket for holding the carrier against the machine.

3. A cloth folding attachment of the character described including a center dividing rib for separating the edges of the fabric, combined guide and folding plates and cooperable curved folding wings on opposite sides of the rib and providing cloth receiving passages on opposite sides of the same, said rib and plates having vertically alined slots, a gage pin extending across said passages by extending through said slots and transversely adjustable therealong, and a member carrying said pin and adjustably secured to the rib for adjusting the position of the pin as to all of the passages crossed thereby to regulate the transverse extent of the edges introduced into and folded by said attachment.

4. A device of the character described, comprising a plate-like carrier adaptable for pivotal mounting on a sewing machine for swinging movement into and out of operative relation to the line of feed of the machine, means on the carrier and engageable with the machine for holding the carrier in fixed relation to the line of feed on setting the carrier with respect thereto, a bracket mounted on the carrier adjacent its free end and having an upright web, a cloth folding and guiding attachment carried by the bracket and having curved folding wings, a dividing rib between the wings and combined guiding and folding plates, all located on one side of said web, means including slotted lugs on the opposite side of the web and adjustably connecting the bracket to the carrier, whereby the bracket may be adjusted to the line of feed of the machine independently of the setting of the carrier, and a spring arm attached to the carrier in substantially the plane thereof at or adjacent the pivotal connection of the carrier with the machine, said arm extending to and engaging another web on the bracket above the lugs for exerting a downward pressure on the carrier for holding the carrier against the machine, said lugs being disposed in spaced relation in the direction of the length of the bracket.

WYETH ALLEN. 

